That day, Fialaat-la-Borgograd was troubled, unusually, not by the love of her life, but by an unusual heat in her heart.

　It was pulsing harder and beating faster than he had ever felt in his life.

　Normally, this organ exists, but it doesn't assert its existence in such a strong way. If you listen closely, you can almost feel its heartbeat quietly.

　But ever since the day he became the dragon's heart, Fialaat has felt the deep cacophony of his chest.

　The heart alone is so powerfully present that it has been embossed from the body.

　It is not the only thing in me that is not me.

　Fialaert felt a sense of dread in his own body.

"Oh, my...

　Before he knew it, his neck was dripping with sweat. Dead snow is still falling, and a cold wind is hitting his cheeks. Only Fialaat felt the heat radiating from his body.

　This heat, which was increasing day by day, hadn't lost its momentum even after returning to the capital of the Garlist Kingdom. I felt as if my heart might burst into flames and burn up.

　However, that didn't mean that I could stay in bed.

　It would be a shame for a sorcerer to be unable to control even a single abnormality in his body. The only thing that kept Fialat going was his pride and determination.

　--And in fact, he knew what the fever was.

　In fact, the source of the fever had turned out to be a circulatory system that brought magic into the shell of the Great Demon Vriligant, albeit temporarily.

　The dragon's magic. It was a genuine demon, incomparable to that of humans and demon beasts. Fialaat's whole body was bathed in unmixed demonic energy.

　Even now, his body remembers the feeling. His heart was covered with the dragon's magic. At least there was no longer a man. I had a definite feeling.

　The body exhaling a strange heat must be to adapt to the heart.

　The whole body is emitting a great deal of magic power in order to adapt to the heart that was given the dragon's magic and become a suitable shell. The magical power that was not generated by the technique had turned into heat, making Fialat's brain and body debauched.

　But Fialaat wasn't the only one who was undergoing an amazing transformation. Lugis, whom she was now searching for with wobbly steps, was one of them.

　Since the day she took on the role of General. No, from the moment he heard the name Heldt-Stanley, all he saw was gold.

　He spends all day preparing for battle to get to him. Fialat couldn't stand it.

　She knew there was a gold named Heldt-Stanley. It would be a lie to say that she didn't think about him when she heard his name.

　But this was unusual for Lugis. It was as if his whole body was filled with love and hate.

　Fialaat was even jealous. The feeling was hotter than his heart.

　He wished all his feelings were for him. Even if it was love, hate, or anything else, he would take it. Fialaat found that the higher the heat went up, the faster his thoughts went.

　The accelerated thoughts took his adoration for Lugis to an even more inexplicable horizon. The current Fialaat might have been glad of it even if his hands had tightened around her neck.

"...... How dare you walk around in such a state, my friend? If you're too reckless, you're reckless.

　At the entrance to the large common room, Caria greeted Fialaat with a roll of her eyes.

It's better than being alone. Much better.

　Fialat patted his chest and thought, "So this is it.

　If Kalia was there, that meant Lugis was there too. No, the order is reversed. If Lugis is there, then Kalia will be there as well.

　But Fialat was treated similarly by those around him. 　

I don't think the Cathedral would go that far. I think it would be better to just sit back and watch.

　And then there was Lugis.

　Unusually, he was dressed in his civilian clothes, not his military uniform, and was rolling a chewing tobacco cigarette in the center of the common room.

　The common room of the mansion that Lugis had been given by the Queen had now become a kind of salon.

　The room had enough room for more than a dozen people, and it was designed for relaxation, so there were plenty of sofas and tables.

　It was a suitable place for gathering and talking, though not for secret talks.

　Recently, this salon had become a meeting place for Lugis and his faction to exchange words.

　Not to mention Kalia and Erdis, the mercenary captain Vestalinu-Gerua has been standing beside Rougis as if claiming to be his lieutenant, and Bruder and Anne have also been making frequent appearances, though they are not present at the moment.

　However, the person that Lugis is looking at right now is not any of those people, but his mentor, Richard.

　Even though he had lost one of his arms and was no longer as strong as he had been in the past, there was still a raw light in his eyes.

"It will come. If you lead an army north against the Zebraelis. They'll go south for sure. Neither the First Men nor the Pope are battle-hardened men. Protector Brackenbury can't move under their protection. But there's Valerie.

　Richard stared somewhere far away, not in front of him.

　It's not the eyes of an old man reminiscing about the past, but the eyes of an old man cunningly running through his thoughts.

It's not that he's good at war. I can still beat him at command. But even if he loses in command, he'll win. He's like an army on his own. If the concept of an army had arms and legs, it'd be Valerie. You saw that in the burial chamber.



"Oh, it was awful. I thought they weren't human. There's no hesitation in coming in.

And the cathedral's not taking it easy. It's because you keep killing demons and demons. The cathedral says you're the saviors of mankind. They're looking for an opportunity to make up for it.

　That's why Lugis grasped his master's words.

I'm not sure what to do, but I'd like to know what you think. But if we go forward, the cathedral will bite us in the flank.

"You're right, General. I look forward to your brilliant leadership.

　It was Richard's second-in-command, Neymar, who bluntly told Lugis. Neymar, Richard's second-in-command, said to Rougis matter-of-factly, "If you only had a relationship with Richard, he would be your brother and sister. She seems to think that this is completely unacceptable.

...... Isn't the first place to start is to figure out what to do with Zebraelis?

　It was just after one of the topics that a feverish Fialaert approached Lugis.

　He sat down next to Lugis without hesitation.

"Fialaat. You've got a fever, you should be--

"Who's worse, me or you who woke up and disappeared from the bedroom without permission? Which is worse?

　For a moment her expression was very distorted, but after a moment of silence, Lugis accepted Fialaat. Her dark eyes were too indefinable.

　In the first place, if you ask Fialaert, he came to her bedroom to visit her fever. The moment he let his guard down for a moment and let go of his consciousness, he left the room without doing anything, which was too cruel.

　I feel like a fool for worrying about the smell of sweat.

...... Well, Fialat is right. Zebraelis first. I'll take care of it. If we don't do something, we're going to die.

What do you mean, "do something"?　I'd like to hear the details.

　Neymar said menacingly to Lugis, who had a chewing tobacco in his lips. I'd like to hear more about it.

Zebraelis is a moving fortress. It's so big it could pierce the heavens. It's not something a man or an army can deal with. It's a natural disaster. I'd be more than happy to call it a real disaster.

　But that's not going to happen. That fortress behemoth is still advancing towards the Garleist Kingdom at this very moment. Devouring earth, man, and demon.

"Use the dragon. Let the disaster deal with the disaster. The plot is already in place. Old man, do you have the energy left to go to the front lines? Or are you too old to retire?

　Lugis stood up easily, supporting the wobbly Fialat.

　His eyes lit up as if everything was settled, and he looked at the old general.

"You're worrying me. Retreating to the rear is a luxury that comes with death.

　Richard said with a sly smile. There was a piercing color in his eyes that surpassed that of his student.

　His ambition and will had not diminished in any way. For him, his prime was always right now.